# 1985 New York Giants season

The 1985 New York Giants season was the franchise’s 61st season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants entered the season looking to improve on their 9–7 record in 1984, which was enough to qualify the team for the playoffs as the second wild-card team, and to return to the playoffs for the second consecutive year under third-year head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants managed to do both, finishing with ten victories for the first time since 1963 when the team won eleven games and finishing as the first wild-card team which earned the Giants a home playoff game at Giants Stadium.
They defeated the San Francisco 49ers 17–3 in that game, avenging their loss to the 49ers in the previous year's divisional playoffs. However, it was as far as the Giants could get as they were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears in the divisional round at Soldier Field 21–0. Bill Parcells stated in "America's Game: 1986 Giants" about the game the Giants played against the Bears in the playoffs that "an honest evaluation of it, we could have probably beat that team one out of ten times. But that day was one of the days that that could have happened." At the time, the team set a record for most rushing yards in one season by a Giants team.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

| Round # | Pick # | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 19 | George Adams | Running back | Kentucky |
| 2 | 46 | Stacy Robinson | Wide receiver | North Dakota State |
| 3 | 58 | Tyrone Davis | Defensive back | Clemson |
| 3 | 73 | Brian Johnston | Center | North Carolina |
| 4 | 100 | Mark Bavaro | Tight end | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 132 | Tracy Henderson | Wide receiver | Ohio State |
| 6 | 159 | Jack Oliver | Guard | Memphis State |
| 8 | 213 | Lee Rouson | Running back | Colorado |
| 9 | 240 | Frank Wright | Defensive tackle | South Carolina |
| 10 | 272 | Gregg Dubroc | Linebacker | LSU |
| 11 | 299 | Al Young | Defensive back | Virginia Tech |
| 12 | 326 | Herb Welch | Defensive back | UCLA |

## Regular season

In a game against the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann's career ended on November 18, 1985, when he suffered a gruesome comminuted compound fracture of his leg while being sacked by New York Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson during a Monday Night Football game telecast. The injury was voted the NFL's "Most Shocking Moment in History" by viewers in an ESPN poll, and the tackle was dubbed "The Hit That No One Who Saw It Can Ever Forget" by The Washington Post.
At the time, the Redskins had been attempting to run a "flea-flicker" play. The Giants' defense, however, was not fooled, and they tried to blitz Theismann. Taylor sandwiched Theismann into Carson and inadvertently landed his hip on Theismann's lower right leg, fracturing both the tibia and the fibula.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–0 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 76,141 |
| 2 | September 15 | at Green Bay Packers | L 20–23 | 1–1 | Lambeau Field | 56,145 |
| 3 | September 22 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 27–17 | 2–1 | Giants Stadium | 74,987 |
| 4 | September 29 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 16–10 | 3–1 | Veterans Stadium | 66,696 |
| 5 | October 6 | Dallas Cowboys | L 29–30 | 3–2 | Giants Stadium | 74,981 |
| 6 | October 13 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 30–35 | 3–3 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,112 |
| 7 | October 20 | Washington Redskins | W 17–3 | 4–3 | Giants Stadium | 74,389 |
| 8 | October 27 | at New Orleans Saints | W 21–13 | 5–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 54,082 |
| 9 | November 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 22–20 | 6–3 | Giants Stadium | 72,031 |
| 10 | November 10 | Los Angeles Rams | W 24–19 | 7–3 | Giants Stadium | 74,663 |
| 11 | November 18 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–23 | 7–4 | RFK Stadium | 53,371 |
| 12 | November 24 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 34–3 | 8–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,248 |
| 13 | December 1 | Cleveland Browns | L 33–35 | 8–5 | Giants Stadium | 66,482 |
| 14 | December 8 | at Houston Oilers | W 35–14 | 9–5 | Houston Astrodome | 36,576 |
| 15 | December 15 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 21–28 | 9–6 | Texas Stadium | 62,310 |
| 16 | December 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–10 | 10–6 | Giants Stadium | 66,785 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Results
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Giants | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • Packers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • Giants | 7 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 27 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Giants | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
| Giants | 3 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 29 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 30 |
| • Bengals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Saints | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| • Giants | 3 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 22 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| • Giants | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| • Redskins | 7 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 23 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 0 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
| Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Browns | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Giants | 7 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 33 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Oilers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

#### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

#### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • Giants | 7 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 28 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 357 | 333 | L1 |
| New York Giants$^{(4)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 399 | 283 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 297 | 312 | W3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 6–8 | 286 | 310 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 278 | 414 | L2 |

## Playoffs
### Wild card

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Giants | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Even though the 49ers recorded 362 yards of total offense, with receiver Dwight Clark catching 8 passes for 120 yards, the Giants limited San Francisco to only one field goal. Meanwhile, New York running back Joe Morris rushed for 141 yards.

### Divisional

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Bears | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
The Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears.

## Awards and honors

* Phil Simms, Pro Bowl MVP